» Emerging Issues

California Governor Signs Bill To Limit Certain Prop. 65 Lawsuits

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law Assembly Bill 227 (Gatto) to provide a two-week grace period to address certain alleged violations of failure-to-warn requirements under Proposition 65. In addition to the previously required “60-day”… Read More

Ninth Circuit Holds Wood Preservative from Utility Poles Discharged into the Environment does not Violate the Clean Water Act or RCRA

In Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 713 F.3d 502 (9th Cir. April 3, 2013), the Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of a citizen suit alleging utility poles discharged wood preservative containing pentachlorophe… Read More

The Impacts of Sequestration Cuts on EPA Programs

Sequestration budget cuts (“budget cuts”) went into effect on March 1, 2013. These budget cuts required EPA to cut approximately $425 million from its $8.3 billion annual budget, or about 5%. In a February 6, 2013 letter, Lisa Jackson, then-Admin… Read More

California Passes AB 1442, which Defines “Pharmaceutical Waste” and Authorizes its Transportation by Generators or Common Carriers under Certain Conditions

A pharmaceutical waste hauling bill, AB 1442 (Wieckowski), was chaptered into law on September 29, 2012 and went into effect on January 1, 2013. AB 1442 amends California’s Medical Waste Management Act (MWMA),[1] to define “pharmaceutical waste… Read More

Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Subrogated Claims Brought Under CERCLA Sections 107(a) and 112(c), as well as State Law Theories

By Tiffany Hedgpeth and Michael Einhorn On March 15, 2013, the Ninth Circuit held in Chubb Custom Ins. Co. v. Space Systems/Loral, Inc., Case No. 11-16272, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 5198 (9th Cir., March 15, 2013), that the insurer Chubb Custom Insurance… Read More

Court of Appeal Requires Strict Compliance with CEQA 30-Day Public Notice Requirements

The California Court of Appeal, in Latinos Unidos De Napa v. City of Napa, 196 Cal. App. 4th 1154 (June 27, 2011), held that the City of Napa (“City”), which filed a CEQA Notice of Determination (“NOD”) with the County Clerk’s office, did n… Read More

United States Supreme Court Holds that the Clean Air Act Displaces Federal Common Law Public Nuisance Law and Prohibits Nuisance Claims Against Carbon-Dioxide Emitters

On June 20, 2011, the United States Supreme Court held in an 8-0 decision that the Clean Air Act (Act) 42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq., and the Environmental Protection Agency action it authorizes, displace federal common law public nuisance claims against… Read More

Cities Prepared For California’s New Green Building Code

As many of California’s cities have adopted green building ordinances over the last several years, the state’s new Green Building Standards Code, to be added to the building standards code on January 1, 2011, is not likely to hinder development i… Read More

EPA and DOT Propose To Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions For Heavy Trucks

Responding to a Presidential directive to take coordinated steps to produce a new generation of clean vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced last week the first ever national… Read More

California Proposes To Regulate Nanomaterials as Chemical Substances

Nanotechnology, the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale, promises a number of benefits to society. If current trends in manufacturing are any indication, this emerging technology is here to stay. The August 21, 2008 Pr… Read More